I'm Back (Part 2)

Where else have I been? Attending graduations, taking two killer courses that I am thankful are over (and for my 2 well deserved A's), having a stress echo, and seeing old friends. I seem to have left a lot of people in my wake over the years, and just reconnected with people from three groups from my past. I spent a weekend at a lake house with four gals I graduated from nursing school with. I had not seen 3 of them in 20 years; it's been 30 since I saw the other one. Let me tell you, we did nothing but laugh for two solid days except for when we were asleep. We did a fair amount of drinking of course, and talked and talked and talked. About family, husbands, life, death of parents, kids and kids, antidepressants, menopause, sex--you name it, no subject was taboo. We even took a drunken canoe ride on the beautiful lake and annoyed the neighbors with our off-key singing. Ah, memories. Nothing better than renewing old friendships. What an amazing group of women.

Naturally we talked about nursing; 5 nurses together of COURSE we talked about nursing. Here I was thinking I am the only diploma nurse left on the planet, yet two of my closes friends in nursing school have also not completed their BSN either. One is 30 credits shy of her degree, the other has only taken 2 courses. I am just about 1/2 way through. The other two each have masters degrees; one is a director of nursing, the other is a nurse practitioner (she went back for that after she got tired of attending meetings as a Clinical Spec.). Of the remaining two, one is still a staff nurse in the ICU, and like me did her share of being a manager. The other works in Quality.

The others were floored but excited that I want to teach, and were full of encouragement. I never thought I was very smart in nursing school, but it turns out I just never studied. Imagine that! My classmates, I discovered, thought I was brilliant cause I didn't crack the books. Turns out the actual "being a nurse" part of nursing school was easy for me, and I took to it like a duck to water; guess I was something of a nurse savant.

Regardless of our education since graduation, we all agreed that we wouldn't have traded it for all the 4 year degrees in the world. We learned the art and science of nursing by taking care of patients 24 hours per week, and preparing for at least 2 hours before every clinical the night before by reviewing labs, nurses notes, meds, care plans and meeting our patients. For us diploma dinosaurs, critical thinking is something that was developed over the years, not crammed into a four year course.

Anyway, it was great that after 30-odd years a group of friends who "grew up" with each other fit right back together without skipping a beat. Naturally, we scheduled two more get-togethers sans spouses before we said goodbye.

Renewing old friendships: priceles.

I'm Back (Part 1)

Like the proverbial bad penny, I'm back after a 2 month sabbatical. Where have I been you wonder? For one thing, I celebrated my 30th wedding anniversary with Mr. EDnurseasauras in a lovely warm climate for a week. Aruba was beautiful, everything I could have wanted in a relaxing vacation. The second hut from the top in the second row from the right is where I spent most of my time gazing at the water and taking in the sights.

And there were many. Although Aruba does not have clothing optional beaches (and this was a VERY nice resort) Mr. EDNurseasauras and I were treated to the vision of Naked Girl every afternoon. Hubby missed her first appearance since he went to work out. Very concious of keeping up with his exercise program since his Near Death Experience last November. Anyway, he didn't believe my Naked Girl story until he saw for himself the next day. It was pretty funny watching groups of guys walk by and do a double take, then find a reason to stick around for a good long look. So predictable.

We had our own Near Death Experience on a jeep tour around the island. Our driver was one of the clients! This stuff would never happen in the US, yet we bunch of sheep just went along with it. To her credit, the gal who was driving did a great job. We all survived the 45 degree rock climb and return ascent with the loss of nothing more than a couple of buckets of adrenalin.

From the "Strange Tales" Files

Patient complains of abdominal pain x 5 days and comes to the ER.

Since said patient was wearing pink zip up hoodie with some kind of girlie logo, pony tail with pink scrunchy, and named Kelly, I naturally asked the date of the LMP and was told "I don't have periods, I'm male".

Pregnant pause.

Oh. Sorry.

Thirty-odd years of nursing intuition should have told me that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a...rooster. Damn, I'm a bad mind reader after all!

Salt 'n Pepper Nursing

EDNuresesauras' gradution photo, circa 1888. That's me, top row, 4th to the left.

The caps that we used to wear, once the hallmark of the profession, have been obsolete for longer than many of the nurses I work with have been on the earth. I can remember wearing my cap for the first few years. I can also remember sailing said cap into a corner as soon as the nursing supervisor left. I don't miss the cap, they were probably pretty germy, but I do wonder at the changes since I started doing this job.

A young colleague, a nurse with two or three years of experience recently asked my opinion on how to deliver a complicated bit of nursing care. After I had explained what he needed to do, he looked at me admiringly and said, “You salt and pepper nurses know so much, I hope I have that someday”. I thought he was referring to actual gray hair, although I have none. He explained that he was speaking of “my years of accumulated wisdom”(haha!), clinical excellence, a desire to share it with others, and a non-threatening way in which to share it. This meant a lot to me, and I was quite touched to have been thought of in this way. The respect of colleagues is a pearl beyond price.

So much in nursing has changed over the years. ERNursey hit the nail right on the head with her back to basics nursing observations. I do think that we, as nurses all want to do what's best for patients, but there are so many obstacles to providing even basic care well that it has become increasingly frustrating. Dealing with difficult patients, demanding family members, unruly drunks, drug seekers, and violent psych patients are only part of the problem. What breaks the heart and ultimately the spirit is the "do more with less" mantra from MBA's who don't know a bedpan from a party hat. What we are hearing is "we don't care about what you do, you are only as important as high satisfaction scores". Good nurses are leaving the bedside in droves because they are sick and tired of compromising; literally the care is being forcibly extracted from nursing care. You can only do so much before something has to give.

So, excuse me while I "close the curtain for privacy" and shed a tear or two over the poor prognosis for nursing care.

Human Piggy Bank

I really thought it was an April Fools joke.

The father of an 18 month old in triage stated his child had swallowed a coin.

18 month old promptly vomits 28 cents. One quarter and three pennies.

"I feel all better. Can I hab gum now?"